by Dawn Tripp
DCT: I did not intend a biblical subtext. I don’t know if I’m surprised that reading the novel can draw out those images and themes. I do agree that the spirituality of the story as a whole is more natural than religious. Elizabeth’s story, however, is intensely religious. She was born into a faith. She has carried that faith without questioning it for most of her life—and it is not until she is deep into her aging that her doubts begin to nip at her. As she senses her own death approach, her faith begins to unravel. That struggle, of God or no God, is the hinge her story rests upon. In my opinion, that is the most compelling struggle to spend time in and explore.
Questions for Discussion
In many ways, Moon Tide explores issues of class in American society through the microcosm of the small New England fishing town of Westport, Massachusetts. Discuss how class creates both real and apparent boundaries between the characters. How do these issues affect the people who live in Westport year-round and those who only come for summer?
Discuss the differences between the three women in the novel and how these differences affect not only their individual lives but also their interactions. How does where they originally come from influence how they perceive themselves and how they are perceived by one another? Explore the ways in which age, money, class, marriage, and children work to define not only who they are but also how their lives are different from one another.
The story is told from the perspective of several characters. Why do you think the author chose to do this? In what ways did it allow the reader more access to the interior lives of the characters than a more traditional narrative?
Tripp dedicates much of the effort of her lyrical prose to portraying the landscape of the region. In Moon Tide, the inhabitants of Westport are deeply connected to the sea and to the landscape of their town, so much so that nature is almost a character in the novel. How does nature, and particularly the hurricane, influence the lives of the characters? Why do you think the natural world is such a force in this novel? Explore the ways in which the different characters relate to nature.
To some extent Maggie is the town outsider, but in many ways she is more connected to the locals of the town than Eve and Elizabeth are. Why do you think this is? She is also very connected to nature, which gives her a special place in this book. Explore the ways in which Maggie’s deep connection to the land allows her to be more connected to the life of Westport and to be privy to knowledge that other characters are not?
Eve has been a part of the Westport community from a very early age. However, of the three women, she is the one that seems to be able to not be consumed and defined by the town. Discuss Eve’s relationship to the town, especially compared to the other characters. Eve’s trip to Paris is one of the only times that the author leaves the Westport community behind. Why do you think Tripp may have chosen to do this? What does it reveal about Eve that might not have been explored otherwise? Eve’s complexity as a character is revealed to the reader early on in the novel when she secretly paints with food in her room. What did you conclude about her from this episode? How might this act have helped her to connect with her mother who had died? What qualities did it reveal about her as a child, and how does it inform your understanding of her later as an adult?
Discuss the role of love in the novel, particularly the role it plays in the three women’s lives. Compare the relationship between Wes and Maggie with that of Jake’s desire for Eve. How does love relate to the other themes in the novel such as longing, absence, and memory?
Dawn Clifton Tripp graduated from Harvard with a B.A. in literature. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and her son. This is her first novel.